Help me pick a foreign language...

[Finnegan]

Ok, folks, it's that time finally. I'm down to my last requirement for graduation... foreign language. I've got to choose a foreign language and then take 4 consecutive semesters of it. I'm going to take 2 this summer and then be done by spring of next year. I took 3 semesters of Spanish in high school but I hated every minute of it so I'm not real crazy about taking it anymore. I thought perhaps Italian since it's so similar to Spanish. I would like to take German or Japanese. Japanese I've been told is extremely difficult and I don't know anyone that's made it past JPN-101 without changing languages. I've also been told German is hard but as I plan on going to Europe for a while after I graduate it would be a nice language to know. Oh, decisions, decisions.

 

[peterrabbit]

japanese is too hard. italian is useless (internationally -- but so great to know when visiting). german is also useless. spanish is my pick. although, i would choose french over all of 'em. but i'm canadian.

 

[alf]

spanish is easy, you can PM me if u ever need help.

 

[Anterrabae]

spanish: so you can explain to the mowers that you want a diagonal pattern mowed into your lawn FTW

 

[Remus6]

Io preferisco italiano. Ho seguito la lingua per due semestri, e mi piace molto!

I pick Italian.

 

[alf]

spanish: so you can explain to the mowers that you want a diagonal pattern mowed into your lawn FTW

better than *click- click* *twitch* *click-click-click*

 

[ShadowGLI]

I've taken French for a number of years. Has a great deal of similarity to Spanish and Italian (Which I found when I went to Italy). Personally I am thinking of taking German as my next language as it intrigues me (not just because I own a VW).

I also thought of Italian since my work is partnered with Ferrari and it would be cool to have an edge to get into that group :biggrin:. But we do make VW, Audi, and other companies audio so German could be useful as well. :thumbsup:

Do you have any international career expectations of yourself or are you doing this just to do it.

 

[Anterrabae]

better than *click- click* *twitch* *click-click-click*

must have gotten that from fahrenheit 9/11 because I have absolutly no idea what you are talking about

 

[Remus6]

Ok, folks, it's that time finally. I'm down to my last requirement for graduation... foreign language. I've got to choose a foreign language and then take 4 consecutive semesters of it. I'm going to take 2 this summer and then be done by spring of next year. I took 3 semesters of Spanish in high school but I hated every minute of it so I'm not real crazy about taking it anymore. I thought perhaps Italian since it's so similar to Spanish. I would like to take German or Japanese. Japanese I've been told is extremely difficult and I don't know anyone that's made it past JPN-101 without changing languages. I've also been told German is hard but as I plan on going to Europe for a while after I graduate it would be a nice language to know. Oh, decisions, decisions.

Oh, just so you know, Italian is similar to Spanish but not that similar. There were 7 Mexican girls in my class, all fluent Spanish speakers, and none of them did better than I did in the class. I ended up with an A in the class both semesters and none of those girls got a grade higher than a B. 2 of them ended dropping. The rules are not the same, but the sentence structure is kinda close. The teacher told me it may have been that they were trying to apply the Spanish trends into the Italian language, which hurt them.

I would say Italian is closer to French, if anything. German, from what a friend told me, is easier since it's kinda close to the English language. Hope this helps and good luck.

 

[ShadowGLI]

There were 7 Mexican girls in my class, all fluent Spanish speakers, and none of them did better than I did in the class. I ended up with an A in the class both semesters and none of those girls got a grade higher than a B. 2 of them ended dropping.

Just to make a completely innapropriate joke...

They probably weren't successful because they were using terms used for mowing lawns and sewing carpets..haha

I'm aweful I know.

But there is sometimes a question of work ethic vs ability..

<--- lives in NE where there are really no mexicans.. haha

 

[zerogt86]

I'm taking German 1 now, and so far i'm enjoying it alot (nothing too difficult so far).

 

[rica_roel]

spanish: so you can explain to the mowers that you want a diagonal pattern mowed into your lawn FTW

Than is a Bad joke. I hope you say it just for fun¡¡¡ and that you don´t mean to say it¡¡¡

I will pretend that I did not read it¡¡¡

Spanish, French and Italian, as portuguese, are romantic lenguages, they have somenthing in common, as English, German dutch are "Saxonicas" in Spanish.

 

[trevor]

without a doubt, japanese. If you become proficient in the language SO many HIGH PAYING job opportunities can open up for you.

 

[kirk180]

I'm with Peterrabbit from Ontario Canada on this one. He'd pick French becasue he lives in Canada. So I think it goes without saying that if you plan on staying in America that you would benefit most from speaking our second most common language (Spanish). In my profession there have been several instances when speaking Spanish would have helped me immensily with a communication barrier. Not that the others wouldn't be nice in there own way. I'm just say for all practical purposes I've yet to need to use German, Italian, or Japanese. Not in Ohio. Actually I've been to Germany several times, Italy once, and Japan twice. Never have I had to speak any of those languages to get by. I've always been able to use English to communicate with the locals. But here in America it's the exact opposite. Most people from Germany, Italy, and Japan that live here speak English pretty fair. But I'd be willing to bet that you've met people who speak spanish that can't speak english. It's the same when you go to Mexico (which I've also done several times) there are plenty of people who won't speak english for you. Best of luck with your decision. I guess it depends on whether or not you plan on making it useful for your career, what your career is, or whether it will just be for pleasure.:iono:

 

[kirk180]

without a doubt, japanese. If you become proficient in the language SO many HIGH PAYING job opportunities can open up for you.

I'm not trying to say you're wrong or anything, but what kind of jobs are you talking about? I'm not aware of these "SO many HIGH PAYING job opportunities". Where I live I can't think of one instance that knowing Japanese would benefit me in. Perhaps if I wanted to go live in Japan or something. But I'd think he'd need to be willing to relocate if he wanted to get paid to speak Japanese. And if Finnegan's location is correct, he lives in Kentucky.